Senate Bill sb1718

    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1718

    By Senator Bullard





    39-1623-05                                              See HB

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Crisis Intervention Team

  3         program; providing for adoption of the program

  4         as a pilot program; directing the Louis de la

  5         Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at the

  6         University of South Florida to conduct a study

  7         of the Crisis Intervention Team (C.I.T.)

  8         program; providing the purpose of the study;

  9         providing for a report; providing for funding;

10         providing an effective date.

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12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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14         Section 1.  It is the intent of the Legislature to

15  reduce the number of arrests for people with serious mental

16  illnesses and reduce the use of force-related injuries

17  involving people with serious mental illnesses. Therefore, the

18  Department of Law Enforcement is authorized to adopt the

19  Crisis Intervention Team (C.I.T.) program as a pilot program

20  to provide lessons for its statewide use by other law

21  enforcement agencies.

22         Section 2.  The Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health

23  Institute at the University of South Florida shall conduct a

24  study of the Crisis Intervention Team (C.I.T.) program being

25  used by the members of the Florida C.I.T. Coalition, which is

26  a coalition of several counties involving law enforcement

27  agencies, community providers, and families and consumers

28  developing the core standards for a consistent C.I.T. program

29  for the state. The purpose of the study is to look at the

30  effectiveness of the C.I.T. program related to a reduction in

31  arrests for people with serious mental illnesses as well as an

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1718
    39-1623-05                                              See HB




 1  increase in jail diversion activities, a reduction in the use

 2  of force-related injuries, and identification of those core

 3  elements of the C.I.T. program that make it an effective

 4  police response. The institute, in conjunction with the

 5  Florida C.I.T. Coalition, shall submit a report of the

 6  findings of its study, which shall include recommendations as

 7  to whether the C.I.T. program should be adopted by all law

 8  enforcement agencies as a best practice, recommendations as to

 9  the resources necessary to assist communities in adopting the

10  C.I.T. program, and recommendations as to other training needs

11  for law enforcement agencies related to people with serious

12  mental illnesses, to the Legislature and the Department of Law

13  Enforcement by July 1, 2006.

14         Section 3.  The Department of Law Enforcement is

15  authorized to use up to $175,000 to contract with the Louis de

16  la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute to implement this

17  act.

18         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

19  law.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.